TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 5
Today, the estate was peaceful as always.
I thought I’d abandon the feverish Lady Villainess and slack off, but an unwelcome guest arrived.
‘I thought I wouldn’t have to see them for a while.’
While brewing cheap green tea, I looked at the two men and women sitting at the table.
A design with a clean white base and striking gold embroidery.
It was the same school uniform I wore a year ago.
A woman who didn’t bother to hide her displeasure and The Man, with a familiar face, glancing around leisurely.
They were waiting for me to sit at the table.
“You’re Miss Hanna, correct?”
I placed the green tea I bought for 1 shilling at the marketplace in front of the guest and spoke.
Huff. Did she recognize it as cheap green tea just from the smell? Hanna’s face twisted the moment she saw the tea.
Watching her made me feel annoyed.
Isn’t it too much to make a face like that without even tasting it? I put some effort into it, after all.
The green-haired man, chuckling as if he found the situation amusing, was also quite irritating.
They were the ones who suddenly showed up.
It wasn’t enough that they interrupted my precious rest time; I disliked these rude people even more for taking my tea.
But for the Young Lady’s reputation, I decided to endure.
After a brief tea time, Hanna nodded her head.
“I am Histania Hanna, a 1st Year in the Swordsmanship Department and Secretary of the Imperial Academy Student Council.”
She spoke coldly.
It was evident she wanted to get straight to the point, making me think we’d get along well.
I also didn’t want to deal with the guests any longer than necessary.
‘Let’s finish this quickly.’
A desire to settle things swiftly.
If they came because of a debt, they’d kneel.
If they came to seek revenge on the Young Lady, I’d be ready to draw my sword.
No matter which way the conversation went, if our opinions aligned, it would be over quickly.
Just as I was about to speak to confirm her purpose.
“Hey, Ricardo.”
The green-haired rude man called out to me.
“Did you call me?”
“Did you call me? Puhaha… This is killing me. Seriously.”
Spinning a teacup as he lounged, the handsome man.
The way he, who looked like faded green tea, addressed me as ‘Hey’ was unpleasant to witness.
I conjured a smile polished by capitalism, thinking of memories from my previous life.
Of course, I didn’t forget to give him a pointed look.
“You must be crazy. Coming here without any notice, that is.”
“Haha. You haven’t changed a bit.”
The green-haired head, chuckling, seemed to know me.
Of course, I also knew him.
Ruin and I were Academy Mates.
I’m 22 years old.
When I entered the Academy at a later age to match Olivia’s enrollment date, enduring the harsh environment while being addressed casually by younger students.
Ruin was perpetually second place, always trailing behind Olivia while sucking his fingers.
In the original work, I remember him solidifying his position as an obsessive man, constantly tailing the Heroine.
Especially in the novel, I recall him as a problematic character who was irritatingly smug just because he could use Fireball a little.
I didn’t treat Ruin kindly.
Not only was he someone who harassed Olivia in the original work, but his cocky demeanor didn’t sit well with me.
Female readers praised that as Ruin’s charm, calling him a decadent handsome man, but to me, he just seemed like someone lacking proper manners. Possessing him made me feel that even more.
So I ignored him.
Even when he spoke to me at the Academy.
Even when he picked fights with me.
I ignored him, thinking it wasn’t my problem.
Was it because of that?
Ruin became a Golden Boy.
I made it clear that as long as he didn’t bother us, he could obsess over the Heroine, and I would only focus on Our Villainess, implying that we should live as strangers.
But Ruin seemed to interpret that as a provocation.
“Hey. Are you listening to me?”
While reminiscing about Ruin, the Golden Boy’s past, I momentarily spaced out.
Although I could ignore the faded green tea’s words, I couldn’t risk missing anything related to money, so I couldn’t let my guard down.
Thud.
Ruin provocatively placed his foot on the table. The already worn table seemed to scream, as if preparing to sign a body waiver.
-Eeeek
“I’m sorry. I was momentarily lost in thought…”
“What…?”
“I’m just so nervous because such an esteemed guest has come.”
He laughed as if he found it amusing.
“Anyway, it’s been a while. It’s been a year, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“We haven’t seen each other since you got expelled back then.”
Us.
The Crown Prince and Mikhail. And others.
He must be talking about the Heroine’s secondary male leads.
Ruin opened his eyes wistfully, as if reminiscing about his glorious past as a Divine Healer. I corrected his edited memory, worrying about his Young Man dementia.
“I wasn’t expelled; I took a leave of absence.”
“Puhahaha! Oh, right, right. That’s what it was.”
Suddenly, Ruin, who was laughing uproariously, turned serious.
Goosebumps rose on my shoulders.
Not because I was scared. Just.
‘How old is he? Why hasn’t he grown out of Eighth Grader Syndrome?’
It felt like looking at my Eighth Grader Syndrome days.
Laughing and then turning serious, as if trying to intimidate the other person—a classic Eighth Grader Syndrome behavior.
It felt like looking in a mirror, and it disgusted me.
“Act like usual, Ricardo. You used to speak informally.”
I placed my hands neatly on the table and spoke.
“Currently, as the Desmond Family’s Butler, I cannot speak informally to guests visiting the estate.”
“Butler? What kind of Butler? For a family on the verge of collapse.”
“That’s not true. The Desmond Family is still doing well, but to be precise, it’s the Young Lady I serve who has fallen.”
I had no intention of indulging that man’s cheap provocation.
I had a mountain of work to do, and there was no benefit in getting angry and fighting. Unless he gave me money, that is. Otherwise, fighting was pointless.
So I ignored Ruin.
The Golden Boy’s whining wasn’t good for my mental health.
I looked at the person who seemed more reasonable to talk to.
[Histania Hanna Lv. 28]
[Job: Academy Student]
[Favorability: -20]
[Favorite Topic: Mikhail]
[Disliked Topic: Swordsmanship]
Why is yours in the negatives?
I was quite shocked by the cruelly displayed negative Favorability hovering above her head.
‘Am I really that ugly?’
Or was it that the Butler’s service didn’t meet her expectations?
I offered Cheap Green Tea, but it was the most expensive tea in Our Mansion. Since it was a guest visiting after a long while, I wanted to show off a bit, but this kind of Favorability assassination attempt was troubling.
‘I still have a long way to go.’
Both as a Butler and as a human being, I still feel a lot of inadequacy.
“That Miss Hanna?”
“…”
She ignored my words.
Instead of answering, she slammed a letter onto the Table.
“What is this?”
The woman called Hanna crossed her arms.
Her act of crossing arms arrogantly in front of her senior was unpleasant to see.
She looked like someone who would collapse with one Flick to the forehead.
Since I am Kind Me, I engraved the Patience Symbol in my heart and quietly waited for her to speak.
“The Student Council President said you should re-enroll.”
“The Student Council President?”
The Student Council President. Who could it be?
It should still be a while before the Heroine becomes the Student Council President.
I asked out of curiosity.
“Who is the current Student Council President?”
“Princess Chartia.”
Chartia. The Empire’s 3rd Princess.
If I recall correctly, in the Original Work, she was one of the many Supporting Characters who liked Mikhail.
Unlike someone like Olivia, who clung obsessively, I remember her confessing cleanly and being rejected just as cleanly.
I nodded.
Princess Chartia.
Although we didn’t have much interaction, I remember her as someone not particularly bad.
I quickly read the letter placed on the Table and slid it forward.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think it’s the right time yet.”
“Damn.”
A vulgar curse was heard. Hanna frowned.
She glanced at Ruin sitting beside her.
Ruin, still arrogantly speaking with his hands in his Pocket.
He gulped down the carefully brewed tea and swished it in his mouth as if gargling.
“Ptooey.”
I was taken aback by That Guy’s action of even spitting it out. It seemed Hanna, his companion, hadn’t expected it either.
Ruin spoke.
“What do you mean, ‘the right time’? You’re just too embarrassed to do it.”
I listened to Ruin’s words. I quietly paid attention, thinking I’d let him ramble.
“Am I wrong?”
Ruin tilted his head at me. He seemed to want to see my reaction of being unable to do anything, but I merely shrugged in response.
Perhaps he saw my reaction as easy to deal with, as he kept spouting nonsense.
“Olivia’s fallen into ruin, so who would want to come back? Your source of money is practically dead.”
-Nod, nod.
I nodded.
“That’s true.”
-Tsk.
Ruin clicked his tongue at my uninteresting response.
“Pretending it doesn’t bother you. But it’s true, isn’t it? Your Master became crippled after using Dark Magic.”
“That’s right.”
“Who would want to return to serve a crippled Master?”
Puhaha. Ruin burst out laughing.
I quietly watched him.
“Senior…!”
Hanna, who had maintained a stoic expression, finally let her face twist at Ruin’s harsh remarks. She hadn’t expected him to speak so severely.
Originally, she had intended to scold the Villainess’s Devotee with some sharp words, but seeing her senior clearly crossing the line, her mind seemed to freeze.
A Butler quietly listening to insults about their Master was one thing.
Annoying enough as the bland Green Tea was.
With her accompanying senior behaving like this, she couldn’t think of any way to handle the situation.
The only person who came to Hanna’s mind in that moment was Mikhail.
I quietly observed the two of them.
It was quite an entertaining spectacle.
The woman who ignored everything but tried to intervene when a fight was about to break out.
And the Wizard, laughing as if he were superior.
If You Think About It, they weren’t entirely wrong.
I had been practically forced to take a Leave of Absence.
And the Young Lady had no choice but to be left with a disability.
But it was still true that it made me feel bad.
‘Should I fight?’
In modern times, as spaces guaranteeing anonymity evolved, what grew the most wasn’t strength or knowledge.
It was the skill of verbal sparring, honed to perfection.
Modern people, the moment they grabbed a keyboard, polished their ability to shatter their opponent’s mental state relentlessly.
That’s how I had grown in the brutal world of games. As an orphan, I had no choice but to grow stronger to protect my Mother, wherever she might be.
That’s why I know Ruin’s weaknesses better than anyone else. Perhaps even better than he knows himself.
I know because I read the Original Work.
I know because the Favorability System reveals his weaknesses.
But the reason I don’t provoke him further here is simple.
Because the Lady Villainess might hear it.
I always had to be careful.
If the kind-hearted Lady Villainess overheard the sound of a fight, the mansion might turn into a sea of tears for a while.
Already prone to fever, if she got angry here, she might truly explode.
But I couldn’t just live my life always enduring.
I quietly mulled over the sentence that would trigger him the most. A calm yet provoking sentence to incite his Recklessness.
“That’s right. Which is why I’m too embarrassed to re-enroll right now.”
“Exactly!”
Ruin snickered.
He wore a satisfied grin, as if thinking, ‘You’ve finally realized your place.’
But his expression soured at the words that followed.
“Because the Disciple of the Tower Master, who lost the Top of the Class title to an ordinary Noble Lady, is now the 2nd Year Top Student. Wow…”
I smirked wickedly.
“Truly pathetic…”
It happened in an instant.
“You f*cking bastard.”
A Red Sphere formed in Ruin’s hand.
Hanna, sitting beside him, failed to notice. It was too fast, beyond her ability to catch with her eyes.
Was this the difference between a 1st Year and a 2nd Year?
Hanna belatedly moved her body, realizing how far the gap still seemed.
“Senior…!”
-Boom────!
It was at that moment.
Ruin’s head, which had cast Magic.
Was slammed into the floor.
The worn-out table shattered into pieces.
Ruin’s head, which had been about to shout, was buried into the ground.
Hanna blinked.
She couldn’t see.
No, saying it wasn’t visible would be more accurate.
By the time she blinked, everything had already ended.
The one who had accomplished all this in the blink of an eye grabbed Ruin’s struggling hair and whispered softly.
“Shut your Mouth. The Young Lady is sleeping.”
The Butler’s Red Eyes flickered intensely.